Finding Murph - Heart Breaking Story of Former NHL Player Joe Murphy

[umbrella39]

Growing up in the Detroit area I remember Joe being drafted out of Michigan State #1 to the Red Wings. Gritty player, great skater, with great hands. After being traded to Edmonton he won a Cup in 1990.

Everything changed for him after taking a pretty vicious hit by Shawn Burr the next season. Started acting erratic, drinking, doing drugs, etc... Never the same guy after that.

His 14 year NHL career ended in 2000 shortly after being in the news when someone smashed a glass over his head in a nightclub for talking to their GF.

Now homeless for many years he was spotted in living in the bushes in Kenora, Canada.

One of the saddest things I have ever seen when they find him and he agrees to be interviewed on camera. Heartbreaking when his daughter speaks so kindly about him. Terrible how his life has turned out. By his own accounts he earned between 15 and 20 million. Nothing left after years of hockey.

""Joe was actually living in South America in the last couple of years. He was in Peru for a time, he was in Costa Rica for a time (and) he was deported last year from Costa Rica," Westhead said. "After he arrived back in Toronto, he made his way to the Belleville and Kingston area. In November, he was charged with mischief after trashing a hotel room there. I spoke to the Crown attorney who prosecuted the case and he told me that in 99 per cent of these cases, usually it's a local who will be charged with something like that and they'll get a conditional discharge... Joe pleaded guilty, which was an incredible rarity. He wound up being sent to Kenora to serve a week in jail. And so that's how he wound up in the Kenora region, as best as I can tell."

TSN in Canada aired a segment tonight on his story. 15 minutes and worth it if you have the time...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5Juf6-09HU

 

[KMFJD]

Damn...hope he gets help;

 

[MomentsofSanity]

Living in London area you happen across former NHL players quite often in weird situations. I remember once I was doing business with a local grocery store when I realized the man I was seeing was a well known former player now managing the meat department. This is a guy I watched with the Canucks for years.

Sadly many of the non superstar players have a lot of issues. They have to play through the worst issues they experience. Head traumas have ruined so many of their lives. Suicide. Substance abuse. Just off mental health issues. Because they don’t get the same care and ability to heal as the super stars. For them they fear they can be easily replaced so they just keep on going.

 

[umbrella39]

Indeed. It's extremely sad. It doesn't appear that Murphy even wants anyones help at this point. He is a completely broken man. I fear it won't end well for him...

 

[Sinsear]

Kids with cancer, that’s heartbreaking.

A professional sports player who squandered a fortune is not.

 

[fskimospy]

Kids with cancer, that’s heartbreaking.

A professional sports player who squandered a fortune is not.

He likely squandered that fortune at least in part due to suffering traumatic brain injury, something he didn't know was a significant risk when he signed up.

It's not as sad as kids with cancer but it's still sad.

 

[zinfamous]

Kids with cancer, that’s heartbreaking.

A professional sports player who squandered a fortune is not.

With the personality change, it sounds like a now classically-diagnosed case of CTE. After that one big hit, which certainly meant a serious concussion on top of his other lifetime of concussions and undiagnosed concussions, it's inevitable. This has caused young men (pro athletes are in their 20s-mid 30s at the height of their career) to turn into uncontrollable rage monsters, completely losing the ability to control their emotions, much less understand where all of the new rage is coming from.

It is a complete and total mind-fuck and generally turns you into an unsociable wreck. If you don't have a real support structure: family, then there is no way you could survive. I mean, it is sad from that perspective.

 

[UNCjigga]

With the personality change, it sounds like a now classically-diagnosed case of CTE. After that one big hit, which certainly meant a serious concussion on top of his other lifetime of concussions and undiagnosed concussions, it's inevitable. This has caused young men (pro athletes are in their 20s-mid 30s at the height of their career) to turn into uncontrollable rage monsters, completely losing the ability to control their emotions, much less understand where all of the new rage is coming from.

It is a complete and total mind-fuck and generally turns you into an unsociable wreck. If you don't have a real support structure: family, then there is no way you could survive. I mean, it is sad from that perspective.

Yeah, I could be wrong but I don't think CTE is getting as much attention in hockey as it does in football. NHL still doesn't have an immediate ejection/suspension zero-tolerance policy for head hits, and when was the last time they redesigned the helmets?

https://www.si.com/nhl/2018/05/07/cte-nhl-hockey-head-trauma

 

[zinfamous]

Yeah, I could be wrong but I don't think CTE is getting as much attention in hockey as it does in football. NHL still doesn't have an immediate ejection/suspension zero-tolerance policy for head hits, and when was the last time they redesigned the helmets?

https://www.si.com/nhl/2018/05/07/cte-nhl-hockey-head-trauma

There's still a rather dedicated campaign against acknowledging CTE, even denying that it's a real condition. Football is the primary target because that's where the primary evidence was discovered and the necessary violence and collisions are so obvious, but I think that soccer is now considered the worst sport for developing CTE? Apparently young female soccer players are recognized as the largest risk group for CTE.

 

[Pipeline 1010]

Kids with cancer, that’s heartbreaking.

A professional sports player who squandered a fortune is not.

His brain is physically injured and can't function like yours or mine. Kind of like someone who's spine is injured and can't walk. You expecting him to just get over his brain injury and make wise financial decisions would be like me demanding that the crippled kid STFU and just get up and walk. Both would make us look like dicks. Don't look like a dick.

 

[umbrella39]

Kids with cancer, that’s heartbreaking.

A professional sports player who squandered a fortune is not.

They can BOTH be heartbreaking. Sounds like you are the kind of asshole who would throw shade at someone stupid enough to be a quadriplegic. No difference. His brain is broken just like someone's spine...

 

[Jaskalas]

With Basic Income and a Federal Loan program for housing, even men like Joe don't have to be homeless or kicked around from place to place. It is possible to care for people, we just have to care enough to try. By setting up proper social safety nets that bypass a lot of the hoops and hurdles blocking people from receiving help.

 

[umbrella39]

After watching it seems that Joe is the one refusing help at this point. Help is being offered and he is declining it. His brain is irreparably damaged and he doesn't make normal decisions now... I hope beyond hope he accepts help out of this...